In the next two weeks, Charles Sturt University (CSU) will host a series of community resilience and recovery and future health and human services workshops in Bathurst, Dubbo, Orange, Albury, Wagga Wagga and Port Macquarie to engage community and industry leaders in generating ideas for future CSU courses, programs and products.

The workshops are the next step in CSU’s plan to engage industry and community in co-creation of courses, to ensure future graduates are equipped with the skills communities are looking for to ensure regions thrive and identify how emerging professionals can respond to natural and man-made disasters, particularly forecasted social/environmental disasters such as climate change.

Three of CSU’s Associate Dean Academics – Associate Professor Jenny Kent (Faculty of Business, Justice and Behavioural Sciences), Associate Professor Cate Thomas (Faculty of Science) and Associate Professor Will Letts (Faculty of Arts and Education) – came together to determine what the ‘essentials’ are for future graduates and leaders.

Professor Kent said that the forthcoming workshops are timely, following on from the recent launch of CSU’s Bachelor of Business (Industry Professional Practice) – an innovative course that has been the product of extensive consultation with industry professionals.

“The workshops complement CSU’s ongoing commitment to its regions; each workshop will assist in defining the critical skills and knowledge areas required in our graduates, to ensure a sustainable future for our communities,” she said.

Facilitating the workshops will be Skillset Sustainability Manager, Ashley Bland, who recently emceed the 74th Murray Darling Association Conference and AGM. Reflecting on his experience at the AGM, Mr Bland said it was enlightening to see that the conversation around regional development and community resilience and recovery is now prominent across many regional communities.

“It was interesting to learn how communities throughout the Murray Darling Basin are dealing with changing values around water and how they are working to maintain vibrant towns and villages with less water available to certain types of agriculture.”

“These kinds of conversations resonate with what CSU’s focus is in hosting these workshops; to name and understand the multiple drivers of change in our regions and to focus on the things that will make a difference,” he said.

Workshop participants will include CSU academics and prospective students and community leaders from each region, across a broad range of sectors such as; government, agriculture, business, media and communications and health.

CSU will use the feedback from the workshops to develop out new courses to meet future community needs. They will continue to consult with the workshop participants as course concepts begin to develop.

Over the next three-plus years, CSU will develop tailored industry products and processes as part of their ongoing student strategy.